Siege of Yangzhou (191)

The Siege of Yangzhou occurred from 191 to 192 AD when the warlord Cao Cao seized the small city of Yangzhou from its Han administrators, who remained loyal to the Dong Zhuo-dominated Imperial Court during the coalition against him.

Campaign
From 190 to 191 AD, the Yan Province warlord Cao Cao completed his control over Chen Commandery and came to lead a large army alongside his cousins Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan. In the winter of 191 AD, Cao Cao decided to secure a city as his main base of operations, and he marched his army south to Yangzhou, which was without a commanding general or a garrisoned army. Cao Cao and his army of over 1,500 troops laid siege to Yangzhou during the winter of 191 AD, building siege works with which they could storm the city (as it had no commanding officer, it was unable to hear out surrender terms). In the spring of 192 AD, Cao Cao assaulted Yangzhou and seized it with 587 losses, establishing a foothold along the north bank of the Yangtze River, which he used as the southern borderline for his domains.